How I manage to work 60-plus hours a week and still find time to cook dinner every night

Nagina Sethi Abdullah,

Contributor

Apr. 27, 2016, 12:00 PM

Nagina Sethi Abdullah. Michelle Hayes For seven years, I worked in one of the most demanding careers out there: management consulting for a top firm in New York City. I managed big client projects, worked 12-plus hour days, and had no routine.

Working these long days and facing repeated fire drills during the day made keeping myself in shape nearly impossible — I always put myself to the back, with other urgent priorities glaring at me throughout the day.

Over time, I realized that I felt a continuous sense of exhaustion and lack of energy, and that my productivity was taking a hit at work. I needed to change something. Since I needed to eat anyway, I started with food. I developed an easy system for myself and my family to eat home-cooked food every night — even though I was working 60-plus hours each week. Now, I am healthier and in control of what I eat. I have an incredible level of energy I never used to have, and that helps me be more productive and confident at work than ever before.

I've since left management consulting for a career in business development. Between my day job and starting my own health-coaching business, MasalaBody.com, 60 hours is a slow week. Cooking my dinner each night was a turning point to getting healthier — and it's possible for anyone that works long hours (even if you're exhausted when you come home).

Here's how I do it:

I use a 3-step technique to plan my meals

1. I devote one hour on Sunday to meal prep

Since sides take the longest time, I spend one hour on the weekend to making two sides. This usually includes a healthy carb (I like beans and lentils dishes) and a vegetable, which can be as simple as bag of salad greens in the fridge that you can quickly use as a side.

2. I store food in glass containers, which helps them keep their freshness for longer

Each side can be stored for at least four days in a glass container. I have different sizes and even started finding it easy to bring my lunch to work doing this!

3. Each weeknight, I spend 10 minutes making an easy protein

I usually prepare white meat such as grilled chicken, fish, or tofu. I sprinkle two or three spices on them and sauté or bake them. These take minutes to cook, and pair well with the sides I've already prepared.

Using this three-step meal planning technique, I come home from a tiring day at work to cumin coriander fish with yellow lentils and roasted vegetables — and it only took me minutes to make that night.

I make 4x the servings I need for one meal

I always cook more than I need for that meal.

When I make sides on the weekend, I make enough on Sunday to last me Monday through Wednesday or Thursday. If I marinate a protein (such as a fish or chicken), I make enough to last me four days, also.

In case I don't finish the dish that week, I can always store it in the freezer for a gourmet surprise waiting for me during one of those weeks I didn't have enough time.

This way, when I come home from work, all I do is heat up the meals I have already spent time preparing. Why cook for only one meal when I can cook for the week with negligibly more time?

Cumin Cauliflower takes 25 minutes to cook. Stephanie Badini

I use 5 shortcuts in the kitchen to cut cooking time down to minutes

Using modern cooking appliances means I don't have to be standing by the stove stirring for hours anymore. I also don't like to spend a lot of time chopping and dicing when that can already be done for me.

With these shortcuts, I quickly whip up gourmet-style meals with less than half the effort.

First, there are three appliances that help me make a home-cooked meal in a fraction of the time in the kitchen:

Buy frozen chopped vegetables (these also won't go bad if you don't get the time to use them)

Buy pre-peeled or pre-chopped herbs and meat (ask the meat counter and they can chop everything for you while you're shopping)

Eating healthy is the No. 1 way I have become more confident, happy and productive during my workdays. By making a few strategic shifts, it's very reasonable for me to cook and eat a home-cooked meal each night. The best part is that after a 12-plus hour day of meetings and unexpected client requests, it only takes minutes to put together a fully balanced, healthy plate.

Nagina is the founder of MasalaBody.com and a Weight-Loss Coach for Busy Women. She has been featured on Fox News, Mind Body Green, and Woman's World Magazine for her easy weight-loss technique for busy women. Get instant access to her FREE Weight-Loss Recipe Book and 1-week meal plan with seven easy recipes here.